Tyrolean Pedlar in front of a Salzburg Farmhouse

Here the artist shows a romanticised picture of peasant life – a rural idyll. A Tyrolean pedlar has spread out his wares before him on a flat stone – with fine fabrics, phials of fragrant essential oils or medicines, jewellery, rosaries and a small mirror. A peasant family in their Sunday best examine the paraphernalia, bargain over individual items or have apparently already made a purchase – as the young man attempting to slip an engagement ring on the finger of his diffident beloved. The three young women wear as yet no head-covering, showing their unmarried status.
Travelling salesmen used to take their wares from house to house, as the farms were often remote. This brought a welcome diversion in their arduous everyday life. The artist portrays the dramatically gesticulating figures as though on a stage.

Habersatter Thomas: Johann Fischbach, Tyrolean Pedlar in front of a Salzburg Farmhouse, in: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg./Edi.): von | from 0 auf | to 100. Residenzgalerie Salzburg 1923-2023. Salzburg 2023, S./p. 300-301